Today 29Oct2023

I had dinner tonight and overate–I want a nap. A New York Strip that had been soaked in teriyaki sauce all afternoon and then broiled. I had sprayed some Pam non-stick spray, which promptly caught on fire. A part of the steak also burned with flame. Still, it was medium and quite good. I do not panic when these things happen. I just used a potholder to blow the flames out once I moved the steak out of the broiler. No problem.

I also boiled a few potatoes and mashed them with butter and a bit of cream–perfect. I found frozen corn and put that in a steamer basket, which was good. This time, I remember to cover the grill with tin foil and line the pan too. No clean-up issues this time with burned-on teriyaki sauce. I ate this while finishing the rewatching of The Sandman season 1–I enjoyed it. I cried hard when one character, very sympathetic, returned to his form as a place and asked folks to visit him and enjoy his trees and meadows. I also cried when I watched the start of The Phantom of the Opera, the movie version. The Phantom was one of Susie’s and my favorites.

Before this, I was doing laundry, started to make no-knead bread, deposited a check–a refund of some of Susie’s care, and installed my new lamp in my work area. My neighbors next door, Christine and her daughter Harper, left a rose for me to plant in Susie’s memory. It is a large plant in a gallon, and I will find a place for it.

Lunch was a potluck after church. I had a plate or two, and I supplied ham as we are usually low on mains. We seem more of a dessert type of Methodists at First United Methodist in Beaverton–there were plenty of choices of cakes, pies, cookies, brownies, and other sugar and flour heavens. I wore my blue suit, the red Old West style vest, and a standard tie with my new homburg hat. I had the gold-colored pocket watch and chain to finish the antique look. Black leather shoes, of course, were the final touch.

Church was pleasant as the songs to sing were in easy 4/4 time and simple keys (though if you think I hit any of the right notes, you have not heard me sing–if it can be called that). I knew three songs and listened to some before, so I could fake it. Pastor Ken’s sermon was to make some sense of the massive passage in Acts 5 that Z, our reader, got to try. Z had to read more than two pages of text. Z asked how to pronounce Sadduces, and I gave Z the sound of the word and told Z to over-annunciate it confidently and fake it like the rest of us. Rev. Anne gave Z one name, sitting in the front to direct the choir and help Wayne. Z got applause for making it through.

For the sermon, Pastor Ken explained that it is essential to know what labels mean when discussing politics and religion in the Middle East now or from 2,000 years ago. He pointed out that the officials in the passage who arrest the apostles and are fighting to keep the status quo are not unlike us. We are not the apostles, though they are heroes of the story, but much closer to the temple police and officials in current times. We need to understand the labels we are using. We also have to remember the change might be God’s plan, and like the official said, do nothing; we need to be careful not to push against God’s plan. Ken is clearly not stating anything to be attributed to the current situation but for us to remember in our dealing with the world that we may not be the apostles but the temple police in the story–operating from authority and wealth. He also said we often feel overwhelmed and, like the officials in the story, are tired of new conflicts. “I have enough,” said Ken. And just like the officials, we need to be careful to not demand the status quo because we are exhausted.

When I asked Ken to do grace for the potluck, he told me he was tired and had enough with a smile. So I requested Rev. Anne, and Ken watched as Anne led us in a song for grace instead. Ken smiled; it was good–God’s will was found.

Before this, I was up at 6:30 baking and then carving $25 worth of ham. I wrote the blog too. I also went back and added more to the blog. Once the ham was hot and looked good, I carved it up and put the slices and pieces in a dish, wrapped in tin foil, and put it in the cooling oven.

I stacked the dishes, showered, and dressed in my three-piece suit. Breakfast was a slice of my homemade bread with butter and jam and a banana. I had liberal coffee from my French press. It was a struggle to start so early as I was asleep after midnight.

Thanks for reading.

Addition:

The tears come when I am alone–I feel I can just cry alone. I want to let it out, which is an embarrassment to many.

I react to anything associated with death or a final change. The theme of Phantom of the Opera makes me cry hard–“Let us have some illumination!” never caused me to cry before, quite the opposite. The sudden change now brings forward all the feelings of loss. My emotions are uncontrollable; again, the tides of sadness and loss come unbidden and often with no warning. But food tasted better today, and colors returned to the world. The Sandman was fascinating again (Netflix).